English at junior-high entrance: a 140-school list and two 2027 guides

Some private junior highs let English count in the entrance exam. The shapes differ so much that a family needs the school's own guidelines (募集要項, boshū yōkō), not a single national rule. ONETES published a table titled as a list of 140 schools that offered an English-option exam for 2026 entry (英語（選択）入試, eigo sentaku nyūshi). That season has already been held. Two schools' 2027 guides are Seikei Junior High (成蹊中学校) and Hiroo Gakuen Junior High (広尾学園中学校). All three were read on 9 October 2026.

Four patterns on the 2026 list

The ONETES table is a grid of school, exam name, places, date, subjects, whether there is an interview, and a note. It includes boys' schools, girls' schools and co-ed schools, in Tokyo and in other prefectures. Dates on the Tokyo rows cluster in early February, morning and afternoon. Rows for other prefectures also show December and January.

1. An English paper on the day. Listening, reading and writing appear often. Some rows add speaking, or an interview in English, Japanese, or both. A few rows let the child choose English as one subject among Japanese, maths, science and social studies.
2. A certificate converted into points (みなし得点, minashi tokuten). The note gives a point for each Eiken grade (英検, Eiken, the Test in Practical English) and adds it to Japanese, maths, or both. One row uses 50 points for grade 4 and 100 for grade 2 or above. Another uses 70 for grade 3 and 110 for grade 2 or above. You cannot carry one school's table to the next school.
3. A minimum grade before you may apply. Notes name grade 5, grade 4, grade 3, pre-2 or grade 2 as the floor for that row. Some rows also describe the paper itself as "about Eiken grade 4" or "about grade 2." That is the list's description of difficulty. It is not a statement that holding the certificate replaces the paper.
4. The certificate stands in for the English paper. Some notes say a named grade exempts the child from the English paper, the English interview, or both, and some say the converted score is used when it is higher than the score on the day's paper.

For an exam you will actually sit, use the guide for that year.

Seikei, 2027: Japanese and maths, plus an Eiken grade

Seikei's 2027 general exam in the English-qualification form (一般入試（英語資格利用型）) is a few places, girls and boys together. You qualify if you were born from 2 April 2013 to 1 April 2015, you will finish elementary school by 31 March 2027, and you hold Eiken grade 3 or above, obtained at any time.

There is no English paper and no interview. You sit Japanese and maths, 50 minutes and 100 points each, the same papers as the first general exam on the same morning. The Eiken grade becomes a third score:

Eiken grade	Deemed points
3	50
Pre-2	75
Pre-2 Plus	80
2	90
Pre-1 or above	100

The exam is on Monday 1 February 2027 at the school. You may start typing the application from Monday 21 December 2026 at 09:00. You pay between Tuesday 12 January 2027 at 09:00 and Tuesday 19 January at 13:00. Papers must arrive by Wednesday 20 January. The exam fee is ¥30,000. If you apply at the same time for the 1 February general exam, the combined fee is ¥40,000. Add the 4 February general exam as well and the three-round fee is ¥60,000. The 1 February English form plus only the 4 February general exam is ¥50,000. The discount applies only when the applications go in together. The fee is not returned.

On the web form you select the option that includes this English form, link an Eiken digital certificate with a sharing key from the Eiken site, and also post a copy of the pass certificate. After the application is complete you cannot change the grade you declared. Results are on Tuesday 2 February from 15:00 until 15:00 on Wednesday 3 February. You pay the entry fees in that same window, and you hand in procedure papers at the office on 3 February between 10:00 and 15:00. A pass on 1 February means you do not sit the 4 February exam. Phone calls about a place further down the list, if they come, start on Saturday 6 February between 13:00 and 14:00, and the guide says a later day is also possible.

Hiroo Gakuen, 2027: an English paper for the international AG round

Hiroo's international AG round (国際生ＡＧ回) is on the morning of Wednesday 3 February 2027, meeting at 08:30. The guide asks for Eiken grade 2 or equivalent English. You also need to be able to commute from a parent's home, and to have been born from 2 April 2014 to 1 April 2015. The papers are Japanese (30 minutes, 50 points), maths set in English (50 minutes, 50 points), English (50 minutes, 100 points) and a 10-minute interview in English and Japanese. A TOEFL iBT score of 90 or above on the old scale, or band 5.0 or above on the new scale, exempts the English paper if you submit the score in advance.

Hiroo's returnee exams, which are a different round, are on Thursday 17 and Friday 18 December 2026. The international AG class on that December round also asks for Eiken grade 2 or equivalent. The February guide's exam fee, when you apply for rounds together, is ¥25,000 for up to two rounds, ¥30,000 for three, ¥35,000 for four and ¥40,000 for five, plus ¥5,000 for each further round. A fee already paid is not returned, and the round and course cannot be changed afterwards.

After entry, the 2027 guide's monthly total (tuition and the listed charges, before a separate savings debit) is ¥54,350 on the regular course, ¥64,350 on the science course and on international SG, and ¥74,350 on international AG. Every course also debits ¥16,000 a month as savings for trips and extra materials, settled at the end of junior high. An English pull-out class adds ¥10,000 a month. The guide says some 2027 fees may change.

What to do now

• A converted score, a waived paper, or a place on a list of 140 schools is not an offer of admission.